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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24100951">Darkest Before The Dawn</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Swimmerkoko8014/pseuds/Swimmerkoko8014'>Swimmerkoko8014</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Miraculous Ladybug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>BAMF Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Bullying, CAUSE THATS HOW REAL ROMANCE WORKS FOOL, Chloé Bourgeois Redemption, F/M, How Do I Tag, Lila Rossi Bashing, Lila Rossi Lies, Lila Rossi's Lies Are Exposed, Major Original Character(s), Marinette isn't Ladybug, Mouse Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Original Chat Noir, Original Ladybug, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Multiple, POV Third Person, Protective Alya Césaire, Protective Chloé Bourgeois, Protective Nino Lahiffe, Protective Original Character(s), Slow Burn, Snake Adrien Agreste | Aspik, adrien isn't chat noir - Freeform, ahem, bruh go with it ples, but it's still slow burn, i mean romance isn't the main plot, idk how to write him, luka isn't here im sorry-, miraculous swap, pls give it a shot, they cool doe, this is complicated, uhhh chloe nino and alya aren't holders (yet)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 03:20:31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>845</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24100951</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Swimmerkoko8014/pseuds/Swimmerkoko8014</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Lila Rossi has it out for Marinette, and nobody can see it. One day she goes too far and Marinette transfers schools to get away from it all. Most of her old friends are siding with Lila, and Marinette has never felt so alone. </p><p>After reluctantly making new friends, Marinette begins to heal. It's a long process involving a lot of setbacks, but she is strong and has friends on her side who won't abandon her, no matter what. </p><p>This is the story about how Marinette reclaims her life, and grows a little bit in the process.</p><p>Updates Saturdays</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Adrien Agreste &amp; Chloé Bourgeois &amp; Alya Césaire &amp; Marinette Dupain-Cheng &amp; Nino Lahiffe, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir &amp; Chloé Bourgeois, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir &amp; Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug &amp; Lila Rossi, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe, Chloé Bourgeois &amp; Sabrina Raincomprix, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug &amp; Original Character(s), Original Character(s) &amp; Original Character(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>103</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Darkest Before The Dawn</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">


        <li>
            Inspired by

            <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/20868983">With Time</a> by <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/PandaWritesPoorly/pseuds/PandaWritesPoorly">PandaWritesPoorly</a>.
        </li>

    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>if i'm writing these characters horribly,,,, p-please tell me. i feel like this is ugly.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Marinette Dupain-Cheng woke up with a feeling of dread pooled in her stomach. Summer vacation had flown by in the blink of an eye, and now it was time to face the music and return to College Françoise Dupont for a new school year.  </p><p> </p><p>As she lay in bed, Marinette stared at her ceiling and recalled the events that occurred at the end of last school year. Lila Rossi had tried to get her expelled. It was still all so surreal to Marinette. How quickly everyone turned on her was still fresh in her mind, as if it had happened yesterday instead of months ago. </p><p> </p><p>Luckily summer vacation had been relatively Lila-free, and in all honesty, it was really enjoyable! Marinette had spent a lot of time with Alya and Nino, doing things such as going to the park and getting ice cream. Adrien Agreste had also played a surprisingly large role in Marinette’s summer, and she couldn’t stop the giddy smile that spread across her face at the thought. Something amazing had come out of all the time she had spent with Adrien. </p><p> </p><p>Marinette had finally put her (admittedly unhealthy) obsession with the model aside. Sure, she still had feelings for him, but it was more akin to a crush than an obsession. Alya had stepped in and gently, but firmly, addressed the situation with Marinette. At the time she’d been upset and a little embarrassed, but in hindsight she was grateful that her eyes had been opened. </p><p> </p><p>The gentle voice of her mother calling her from downstairs snapped Marinette back to reality, and she shot out of her bed, hurtling over to her closet with almost comical speed. After tugging on one of the new outfits she’d designed herself over the summer, Marinette stood in front of the mirror, shoulders squared. She secured her hair into pigtails, exhaling deeply.  </p><p> </p><p>“This year I am not going to let Lila rile me up.” Marinette said confidently, addressing herself in the mirror. She meant every word of it </p><p> </p><p>With one last check in the mirror, Marinette was ready to head downstairs and face the day ahead of her. She grabbed her schoolbag and flung it over her shoulder, making her way down the trapped door and into the kitchen. </p><p> </p><p>“Good morning maman, papa.” The raven-haired girl said cheerfully as she grabbed a pastry for breakfast. After briefly talking to her parents, Marinette kissed them both on the cheek and headed out for school. </p><p> </p><p>There was a slight skip in her step as she made her way to school. Sure, she had most of the class at odds with her and on Lila’s side, but Marinette still had her core people, the people she could count on. The people who believed she was their everyday Ladybug. That nickname still struck home with Marinette, as she looked up to the new Ladybug quite a bit. </p><p> </p><p>As she was walking through the streets, she bumped into someone. Marinette stumbled back a few steps and was immediately met with a pair of concerned green eyes. Marinette immediately began wildly waving her hands around and apologizing.  </p><p> </p><p>“Oh- oh my gosh I’m so sorry I didn’t see you there! Aaaah are you hurt?” she asked, looking up to the stranger that she’d bumped into, who was looking down at her with a glint of amusement in his eyes. </p><p> </p><p>“It’s okay, seriously.” The boy said, awkwardly patting her on the shoulder and chuckling “I’m fine, are you okay?” he said, his voice taking on a hint of concern. </p><p> </p><p>Marinette was slightly taken aback, but slightly pleasantly surprised. She had gotten used to the world being out to get her, so this slight act of kindness was a shocker for her. </p><p> </p><p>“Oh! I’m fine. Thank you for asking. I’m, uh, I’m okay.” Marinette said, recovering from her initial shock and panic of slamming into a complete stranger. </p><p> </p><p>The stranger looked as if he was about to speak again, but frowned before bowing his head in farewell and continuing in the opposite direction with quite a bit of urgency. Marinette shrugged but continued off to school. </p><p> </p><p>----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p> </p><p>Marinette smiled as she heard an all too familiar voice call out “Hey girl!” from a few yards ahead of her. </p><p>“Alya!” Marinette said happily, turning around to hug her best friend, giving Nino a high five as well. “How are you guys?” </p><p> </p><p>“We’re doing great dudette.” Nino said in reply, his trademark ‘chill attitude’ shining through. </p><p> </p><p>The three friends chattered happily as they made their way up to the classroom, catching up on how the end of the summer had gone. Alya was the first to enter the classroom and she froze, her gaze fixated on something further in the room. </p><p> </p><p>In the center of the room, stood Lila, the rest of the class hovering around her, muttering in concerned tones. Lila’s arm was in a cast. Tearfully she raised her arm, pointing her ‘good hand’ at Marinette. </p><p> </p><p>“T-there she is! Please don’t let her come near me!” Lila wailed, and Marinette felt her heart hit the floor.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>a a a a a h i'm so glad you're reading this oh wowie i didn't expect u here. at all. ah haha. anyways i hope you enjoyed my first chapter! sorry it's a bit of a cliffhanger but you uh... might want to get used to that. sorry not sorry-</p></blockquote></div></div>
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